Chapter 94 The Price of Time
Week 35 of Pregnancy
The plan to slow the Convergence by creating dimensional tension was taking its toll on everyone, but none more than the anchor pairs. We had to maintain perfect opposition—our bonds pulling against each other just enough to create resistance without tearing reality apart.
I watched from the command center we'd established, unable to participate directly due to my dampened network connection. It was torture seeing Mason strain under the pressure, feeling his exhaustion through our bond but being unable to help.
"Sector Seven is destabilizing," Thomas reported, monitoring dimensional readings.
"Compensating," Sarah's voice came through from Reality Two, strained but determined.
The dimensional map showed the network as lines of light, usually flowing in harmony. Now they pulled against each other in calculated discord, creating a web of tension that slowed the Convergence's progression.
"It's working," Pierce announced. "Convergence speed has decreased by thirty percent."
"But at what cost?" I asked, watching Mason's face pale with effort.
"Whatever it takes," he said through gritted teeth. "We buy Nexus time to be ready."
Nexus seemed to understand what was happening. They'd been relatively calm since the stabilization ritual, but now I felt them reaching out through me, trying to help despite the dampened connection.
"No, little one," I murmured, hand on my belly. "Not yet. You need to grow stronger first."
But Nexus had their father's stubbornness. I felt them pushing against the dampening, trying to access the network fully. The sensation was like pressure building behind a dam.
"Sage?" Dr. Chen noticed my distress immediately.
"Nexus is trying to help. They're fighting the dampening."
"They could destabilize everything if they break through now," Webb warned.
"I know." I closed my eyes, reaching for my child through our growing bond. "Please, Nexus. Trust us. Trust me. Just a little longer."
The response was a pulse of frustration, but they stopped pushing. For now.
The days that followed blurred together. The anchor pairs worked in shifts, maintaining the dimensional tension while trying to rest. The Void, sensing opportunity in our apparent discord, began probing our defenses.
"Void incursion in Reality Twelve," Roman reported. "The shadows are testing the weakened barriers."
"Bridge Guard responding," Stella confirmed, leading her team through a portal that sparked and protested against the dimensional tension.
I wanted to help, to fight, to do something more than sit and gestate. But my job was to grow Nexus safely, to ensure they were ready when the time came.
"You're doing the most important job," Rory reminded me during one of my frustrated moments. "You're literally growing our salvation."
"I feel useless."
"You're networked to eighteen realities while growing a dimensional anchor. You're anything but useless."
But understanding and feeling were different things. Watching my pack, my family, my mate exhaust themselves while I sat protected and pregnant was its own form of torture.
The breakthrough came from an unexpected source. Elena and Kieran, our newest anchor pair, discovered they could create localized time dilation fields.
"We can slow time around Sage," Elena explained excitedly. "Give Nexus more time to develop while less time passes outside."
"That's theoretically possible," Webb said thoughtfully, "but the energy requirements—"
"Would be manageable if we all contributed," Kieran interrupted. "Each anchor pair feeds a small amount of power into the field. Sage gets the time she needs, and we don't exhaust ourselves maintaining dimensional tension as long."
"How much time?" Mason asked immediately.
"A week inside for every two days outside," Elena calculated. "Maybe more if we optimize the field."
"Do it," Mason decided before I could protest.
The time dilation field was disorienting at first. Everything outside its boundary moved in slow motion, while inside, time flowed normally. Mason stayed with me, refusing to leave even though it meant experiencing the time dilation himself.
"The pack needs you," I argued.
"You need me more. Nexus needs me more." He pulled me close. "Besides, Thomas and Roman can handle things for a few subjective weeks."
Those weeks in the bubble were strangely peaceful. While the world outside raced against cosmic alignment, inside we had time. Time for Mason to sing to Nexus every night. Time for me to feel our child grow stronger without the constant pressure of impending catastrophe.
"I could get used to this," I admitted one evening, watching the sunset that lasted hours from our perspective.
"A pocket of peace in the chaos," Mason agreed. "Though I suspect our lives will never truly be peaceful."
"Would you want them to be?"
He considered. "No. Peace is wonderful, but purpose is better. And our purpose—protecting the network, raising Nexus, keeping reality intact—that's worth any amount of chaos."
Nexus kicked in apparent agreement, the sensation rippling through dimensions even within the time dilation field.
"Strong opinion from someone not yet born," I laughed.
"They're your child," Mason pointed out. "Strong opinions are genetic."
But the peace couldn't last. After a subjective week (two days outside), the strain on the anchor pairs was becoming critical. The time dilation field was wavering.
"We need to collapse it," Pierce said through the communication array, her voice distorted by the time differential. "The Void found a weakness. Major incursion in progress."
"How much longer does Nexus need?" Mason asked Dr. Chen, who'd been monitoring my progress.
"Three more days minimum. Their dimensional cortex is still developing."
"We don't have three days," Webb interjected, his form flickering urgently. "The Convergence is accelerating again. The Void is using our divided attention against us."
I made the decision. "Drop the field. We face whatever comes."
"Sage—" Mason started.
"Nexus is strong enough. They'll have to be." I stood, feeling our child's power humming through me. "We can't hide in a bubble while reality falls apart around us."
The field collapsed, and time snapped back to normal speed. The urgency of the situation hit immediately—alarms blaring, dimensional readings going crazy, reports of Void attacks on multiple fronts.
"Status report," Mason commanded, shifting instantly into Alpha mode.
"The Void is attacking seven realities simultaneously," Thomas reported. "It's coordinating, using the Convergence chaos to mask its movements."
"Bridge Guard is spread thin," Stella added, a gash on her arm evidence of recent combat. "We're holding, but barely."
"And the Convergence?" I asked.
"Forty-eight hours until critical alignment," Webb said grimly. "Maybe less."
I felt Nexus respond to the tension, their power surging. My body couldn't contain much more—I could feel it in every cell. Ready or not, our child was coming.
"We need to induce labor," Dr. Chen said, reaching the same conclusion. "Controlled delivery before Nexus forces their way out."
"Will they be ready?" Mason asked, his hand finding mine.
"They'll have to be," I said, feeling the first contraction ripple through me before Dr. Chen could even prepare the induction. "Because they're coming now."